The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove. The first Christians experience the Holy Spirit as a healing ointment, living water, a raging storm, or a flaming fire. Jesus Christ himself speaks about the Counselor, Comforter, Teacher, and Spirit of Truth. In the sacraments of theContinue Reading
Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand Jesus. In his life the presence of God’s Spirit, whom we call the Holy Spirit, was manifest in a unique way. [689-691,702-731] It was the Holy Spirit who called Jesus to life in the womb of the Virgin Mary(Mt1:18), endorsed him as God’sContinue Reading
To believe in the Holy Spirit means to worship him as God just like the Father and the Son. It means to believe that the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts so that we as children of God might know our Father in heaven. Moved by God’s Spirit, we canContinue Reading
Even Christ cannot help someone who does not want to know anything about love; such a person judges himself. [678-679, 681-682] Because Jesus Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), he will show what is of lasting value in God’s sight and what is not.Continue Reading
When the world comes to an end, Christ comes – for all to see [675-677] The dramatic upheavals (Lk 18:8; Mt 24:3-14) that are foretold in Sacred Scripture – the wickedness that will be plainly manifest, the trials and persecutions that will put the faith of many to the test-theseContinue Reading
Jesus Christ is Lord of the world and Lord of history because everything was made for his sake. All men were redeemed by him and will be judged by him. [668-674, 680] He is over us, and the only One to whom we bend the knee in worship; he isContinue Reading
With Jesus, one of us has arrived home with God and remains there forever. In his Son, God is close to us men in a human way. Moreover, Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men toContinue Reading
Because death is now no longer the end of everything, joy and hope came into the world. Now that death “no longer has dominion” (Rom 6:9) over Jesus, it has no more power over us, either, who belong to Jesus. [655,658]Continue Reading
The risen Lord allowed his disciples to touch him; he ate with them and showed them the wounds of his Passion. Nevertheless, his body belonged no longer only to this earth, but rather to the heavenly kingdom of his Father. [645-646] The risen Christ, who bore the wounds of theContinue Reading
There are no proofs for the Resurrection of Jesus in the scientific sense. There are, however, very strong individual and collective testimonies by a large number of contemporaries of those events in Jerusalem. [639-644, 647, 656-657] The oldest written testimony to the Resurrection is a letter that St. Paul wroteContinue Reading
